An arranged marriage in the making

Mariah awoke with an extra twinkle in her eye today, and now I know why.  Our best buds, Dave & Liza, have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of their little bundle of joy…and Cameron made his fashionably late entrance into the world early this morning!  He was due on the 23^rd so they’ve been busy trying to encourage the little fellow to make his way out.  Ivan taught Dave some acupressure points we had learned, and just two nights ago Mariah had her usual cuddle with Liza’s tummy, only this time I think she had a serious chat with her pal.  She must’ve assured him that it’s not so bad out here - either that or “it’s terrible out here, you gotta come save me!” (somehow the bossier, latter tone sounds a bit more like Mariah, to me).  Or maybe she gave him directions, since she knows how hard it is for boys to ask for those.  Whatever her method, she must’ve been convincing because Liza’s water broke a couple hours later!

Now for a bit of background: Dave and Ivan have been close friends since elementary school.  Dave’s family had moved from the East Coast to Ontario, where Dave met Ivan.  Apparently they took turns watching each other’s back on the playground to avoid getting beat up – or so the story goes.  They grew up together and were probably both a bit heartbroken when Dave’s family decided to move back out East soon after they started high school.  They kept in touch, as much as boys do, over the years – with a phonecall here and a visit there.  But as with any true friendship, no matter how far apart they were, it was like nothing had changed each time they re-connected.  They even tried to introduce their lovely ladies to each other before any of us were even married.  But being the boys they were (and are), their plan was ‘hey man, I’ve got tickets to the Jays game, do you wanna meet at the Skydome?’.  Seriously – no details, no cell phones, no nothing.  So Ivan and I sat patiently on one side of the Skydome thinking we had been stood up for our double date, while Dave & Liza did the same on the other side : )  Needless to say, Liza and I now make the plans with each other and then just tell our hubbies what time to be ready. 

Somehow, fate brought the four of us to Calgary…and we ended up buying homes just ‘around the corner’ from each other.  Us wives were both happy that our hubbies had each other to hang out with.  But I don’t think any of us could have predicted becoming as close as we have, as wives, as hubbies, as couples, and now as families!  Ivan and I were beyond ecstatic when we learned Dave and Liza were pregnant just one trimester behind us.  It even gave Liza and I the excuse to build our own friendship, one aquafit class at a time : )   When our little Mariah arrived, Liza's natural maternal instincts poured out instantly, and Dave's very normal new daddy fears did the same.  I'll never forget how tense and terrified he looked the first time he carried her, since she was the first baby he had ever held!  The next couple of visits we had to force him to hold her, to help ease his concern that he might break her.  But eventually his daddy confidence kicked right in and he started picking her up for a cuddle on his own.  Sure enough, on our first visit with Cameron, I watched Dave hold his baby boy with all the comfort and love that a natural dad would.  I even got a bit teary when he said that Mariah was the best thing that could have happened to him, since she gave him the chance to prepare for his own 'bubba' to arrive.  The four of us have been lucky to move through stages of life together: progressing from double dates at the Bar to watch UFC fights, to hanging out at home together for movie marathons, and now into a future hopefully filled with family roadtrips and new adventures.

We’ve been half-jokingly daydreaming about Cameron and Mariah falling in love one day.  By half-jokingly I mean if they don’t, then it was a joke, but if they do, then ‘see kids, we told ya so’.  In fact, I would prefer if it happened like in the movie “Riding in Cars with Boys” where Drew Barrymore’s son secretly falls in love with her best-friend’s daughter and they announce it to their parents when they’re all grown up.  I've even gone to the liberty of drafting some of Mariah's wedding vows about how she was born during a lunar eclipse and he was born on Earth Day: "Cam, I'll be your sky to help you know no limits, if you be my Earth to keep me grounded and safe".  Okay, so since that all might be a lot of pressure for these itty bitty kiddies (and since Ivan & I plan to try being as gender neutral as possible when we talk with Mariah about relationships), let’s just say that I would love for the two of them to grow up as close as peas and carrots. 

Since the four of us ventured across the country, away from our own families, it’s been beyond special to become like family to each other.  We love our buds so very much that we would do just about anything for them, and they’ve been so good to us, that we’re comforted in knowing the feeling is mutual.  And now that Cameron is finally here, it’s like he’s the missing piece to the puzzle.  Congratulations Dave & Liza!!!